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Marijuana regulation legislation in Washington State does not pass committee

Proposed legislation in Washington State last week which would have decriminalized and regulated personal amounts of marijuana state-wide did not pass the house committee.

The two house bills, HB 2401 and HB 1177, were scheduled for a vote today, January 20, 2009 at 1:30pm, after last week's public hearing and move to allow for more time to amend the bills and correct some of the issues contained therein. After an executive session, both bills did not pass the committee - HB 2401 failing with a vote of 2 aye, 7 nay while HB 1177 had a final vote of 3 aye, 5 nay.

House Bill 2401, which aims to decriminalize and regulate marijuana, putting it in the hands of the liquor control board, was voted on first. Representative Christopher Hurst, mirroring Governor Chris Gregoire's comments last week on the bills, stated he cannot choose a yes-vote on the bills because he took an oath to uphold both state and federal law when elected into his term, and that because this bill would violate federal law he cannot vote for it. This stance was challenged by Rep. Goodman, arguing that states are well-within their rights to pass such legislation, noting that many already have - and that doing so would take the pressure off our law-enforcement and help save room in our overcrowded jails for true criminals who need to be off our streets.

Rep. Brad Klippert, who voted no on HB 2401 made a note to clarify the American Medical Association's stance on marijuana, stating that the AMA now supports the use of medical marijuana, but that such statement should not be viewed as a statement for legalization of marijuana. According to the AMA, "Our american medical association urges that marijuana's status as a federal schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product."

Rep. Goodman, who strongly supports the bills, believes that they would help remove drugs out of the school system and increase respect for law-enforcement, since currently our law officers have the impossible task of enforcing a law which people do not respect, and therefore the people cannot respect those who enforce it. He wishes to regulate it in the same way we regulate other hazardous substances and believes HB 2401 would have done so.

Representative Kirby was supportive of measures to decriminalize and regulate marijuana, but was not in support of these specific bills. In regards to HB 2401, he stated he believes he could support a bill such as this, but not particularly this bill because it lacks important details that need to be addressed. He stated he thinks that the public needs to vote on this bill, stating "I've had a lot of people talk to me about how the public is ready for this, while others say there's no way the public is ready for this. Well I know a really good way to find out...Now we could put an amendment like that on this bill, but I wouldn't want to put this bill out for a vote to the public...Don't count me all the way out, but count me out today, because this is not the one."

After the 2 to 7 failing vote on House Bill 2401, Rep. Al O'Brien stated he would vote yes for House bill 1177. "Seattle decriminalized marijuana back in the late 1980s, and there was no problem associated with decriminalization...by decriminalizing it, we take the criminal part away. If [law-enforcement] picks up somebody for small amount or use, they're not going to jail...They're still subject to a fine, it's still not legalized," said O'Brien. He mentions that it would take pressure off government and law-enforcement, and keep small-time users out of our overcrowding jail-system which would save our jail-space and law-enforcement resources for our more dangerous criminals.

Rep. Appleton, who is in favor of marijuana decriminalization was originally going to vote no based on the failing of a verbal amendment by Rep. Goodman, stating that the bill as-is would not change the law to make the possession of small amounts a civil citation. However after a 2-minute recess for clarification, she changed her stance back to a yes vote. Had the bill passed, a class II civil citation would result in a $100 fine for anybody caught in Washington State with a small amount of marijuana.

After Rep. Appleton's points, Goodman quickly stated that in absence of regulation, at least we can lower the penalties for the use of marijuana by passing HB 1177. He noted that in all the states where marijuana has been decriminalized, marijuana-use did not increase. Rep. Hurst then mentioned he disagreed with the bill for the same reasons he did with HB 2401. "If you are charged with possession of marijuana in federal court, you will be convicted of a federal drug crime - and you will not be able to rent, you will not be able to get a loan, you will not be able to get about 70 percent of jobs in this country...If we tell citizens in Washington State that...it is not a crime...and they are convicted of a crime, we have sentenced that person...to a lifetime of despair. And I'm not prepared to tell Washington citizens that that is what is okay when federal law it's not," said Rep. Hurst.

Speaking in relation to the comments made last week by a teenager regarding drug-use in schools, Rep. Pearson stated that he did not support the bill on the grounds that passing such legislation would increase teenage pot-use, and he doesn't want to do anything which would make drugs seem safer to kids. "I'm looking at the future of our young people, and I'm a no," said Pearson.

Goodman further clarified that this bill would not be in violation of federal law and that other states which have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana are not in violation of said-laws. HB 1177 was then voted on and did not pass with a vote of 3 to 5.

If you would like to watch the vote, it can be found here. The bills themselves can be found at the following locations: HB 1177 and HB 2401 - note the latter two links do redirect to a government server.

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Actually there was nothing brought up on the potency of various strains of marijuana, neither in the hearing nor during the comments before the vote. It seems the main reason the bills didn't pass were that they were rather poorly-written and didn't focus on many of the major important issues.

I think that if the bills were re-written, addressing some of the concerns people and the other representatives have, that they would have a chance to pass. However it does seem that Christopher Hurst isn't going to support any such legislation unless the federal government limits the penalties first - such as by moving the substance to schedule II.

Damn! Swim was pretty sure this would be the outcome for this bill but was still hoping for it to pass. Oh well, swim and his fellow stoners will still be out in force at seattle hempfest in 2010 to represent for the herb!

He said that while there were powerful arguments for why marijuana regulation should be left to the states and not the federal government, "I took an oath of office to uphold the state constitution and the federal constitution."

"I cannot, in good conscious, pass a law or vote for a law that in my opinion, is against federal law," Hurst said.

Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Federal Way, said that the fact that marijuana is illegal doesn't make its use any less prevalent.

"I want to regulate a product that potentially has hazardous consequences," he said. "A 'no' vote on this bill is a vote for prohibition and the illegal markets that it spawns."

The legalization bill failed on a 6-2 vote, with two other Democrats crossing over and voting with Hurst and Republicans: Reps. Al O'Brien of Mountlake Terrace and Steve Kirby of Tacoma.

Under the legalization bill, marijuana would be sold in Washington state's 160 state-run liquor stores, and customers who are 21 and older, would pay a tax of 15 percent per gram. The measure would have dedicated most of the money raised for substance abuse prevention and treatment, which is facing potential cuts in the state budget as lawmakers seek to patch a $2.6 billion hole.

"The amount of money that we could realize over legalizing it and regulating it is close to $300 million a year," said Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, who voted for both measures. "My feeling is that this is the time to challenge the federal government and we should be doing that."

The decriminalization bill would reclassify adult possession of marijuana from a crime with jail time to a civil infraction with a $100 penalty.

It failed on a 5-3 vote, with Rep. O'Brien crossing back over and voting with Appleton and Goodman to pass it. A decriminalization measure is still alive in the Senate, although a public hearing hasn't been scheduled for it.

Last week, activists in Washington state filed a ballot initiative that would legalize all adult marijuana possession, manufacturing and sales.

If the initiative qualifies for the ballot, it will ask voters to remove all state criminal penalties for adults who possess, grow and distribute pot - no matter how much. Criminal penalties for juveniles who possess marijuana and for those who provide the drug to minors would remain in place. Driving under the influence of the drug also would still be illegal.

Supporters must gather more than 240,000 signatures by July 2 to qualify for the November ballot.

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The marijuana legalization measure is House Bill 2401. The decriminalization bill is House Bill 1177. The Senate decriminalization measure is Senate Bill 5615.

A Bill to Decriminalize Pot Is Popular with Voters—So Why Won't the Legislature Pass It?

Pot Potato

A Bill to Decriminalize Pot Is Popular with Voters—So Why Won't the Legislature Pass It?
by Dominic Holden

Stoners get caricatured as layabouts who talk in circles, shrug off their responsibilities, and leave hard work to other people. But when it comes to reforming pot laws in Washington, it's not stoners embodying this stereotype.

As this year's legislative session begins, one of the bills still kicking around from last year's session—after it stalled in the state house without a hearing—is a measure that would decriminalize marijuana. The bill would replace the existing penalty for possessing pot (up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine) with just a $100 citation, like a parking ticket.

A fiscal report by the state's Office of Financial Management shows the measure would save $11,283,360 a year in prosecution and jail costs. And relaxing pot penalties is plenty popular with voters. Polling data conducted in 2006 shows that 67 percent of state voters want marijuana possession to be decriminalized or legalized completely; national polls show a steady climb in support for removing all penalties for marijuana.

At first blush, pot reform in Washington appears to be making headway this year. The bill got a hearing in the house on the third day of the legislative session. But a closer examination shows the bill is likely to flounder. Despite plenty of reasons to approve the measure—again, it would save money and has strong statewide support from constituents—there's plenty of endless buck-passing in Olympia. When pressed, lawmakers end up talking in circles about it and pointing fingers at each other, at the public, at Washington, D.C.—all while waiting for someone else to do the hard work for them.

Like, say, a bunch of disaffected stoners.

Thankfully, a small minority of lawmakers are showing some spine. "It's not an issue about wanting to get stoned," says state representative Dave Upthegrove (D-33), prime sponsor of the house bill. "It's about drug policy that makes more sense and is more effective." But he says fellow Democrats are nervous about approving a controversial law that could trigger a conservative backlash.

If you ask state senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36), the prime sponsor of the bill in the senate (and another of the few with spine), the bill has a chance of clearing the senate but is facing a more difficult challenge in the house. Over there, house Speaker Frank Chopp (D-43) points to his assembly of lawmakers and to the chair of the committee in which the decriminalization bill is getting its start. "I don't control all the votes," Chopp says. (Quite a claim, considering Chopp is notorious for running his chamber with an iron fist.)

The chair of the committee in question, Representative Christopher Hurst (D-31), says he can't support the bill because it conflicts with federal law. A former narcotics detective for the Black Diamond Police Department, Hurst holds absolute authority to prevent the marijuana bill from ever leaving his Public Safety Committee. He claims that decriminalizing marijuana would confuse people who may sail into federally patrolled waters or drive into national parks; they could be prosecuted unwittingly for marijuana possession, he argues. But over a dozen states have decriminalized marijuana, including Nevada in 2001 and Massachusetts in 2008, and "no state has ever reported experiencing such a problem," says Alison Holcomb, drug policy director of the ACLU of Washington.

But then Hurst—who talks in circles when told the federal conflict has no play in low-*level pot prosecutions—also points his finger at Congress. "It is up to federal government to make that decision," Hurst says. "It doesn't rest with the states."

Next, Hurst claims, unbelievably, "Police don't book people for small amounts of marijuana. This idea that people are out there being booked into jail for small amounts of marijuana is preposterous." What's more preposterous—especially from a former cop—is that his statement is at odds with the state's Administrative Office of the Courts, which found that 12,463 cases were filed for misdemeanor possession in 2008, and 5,280 cases resulted in conviction. On average, defendants served 4.3 days per conviction, for a total number of 22,704 jail days. Even more frustrating, this information is in the fiscal note (prepared by the state) that accompanies the bill sitting on Hurst's desk.

Regardless, Hurst says, "I don't see the votes there in the house or the senate" to pass the bill.

While Hurst is trying to pass this hot potato off onto others, certain legislators want to pass it directly to voters in Washington State.

Representative Roger Goodman (D-45) recommends that, instead of hoping for the legislature to pass it, citizens should take the initiative by running a ballot measure. "Most [lawmakers] perceive that there is not a lot to be gained politically by taking this on," Goodman says. But Holcomb at the ACLU of Washington, which has been pressing hard on the legislature to pass marijuana decriminalization for years, points out that last year the senate voted the bill out of committee and none of the senators faced a backlash. She calls that "a strong signal to our Washington legislators that their constituents are ready to pass this bill."

Moreover, running a citizens' initiative typically requires 10 months of work and costs over $2 million—whereas the legislature can do it in a few weeks without spending an additional dime.

Still, some want to try going for broke with an initiative. On January 11, a new group called Sensible Washington filed an initiative that would legalize marijuana outright.

"There are just not enough people in the house and senate willing to step up and vote for it," says Philip Dawdy, coauthor of the initiative and a freelance journalist. With plans to get the measure on the ballot for under $100,000, the ambitious pot measure has more than an uphill battle. Passing it would be like climbing Mount Everest while fighting the Huns. But the steep fight of an initiative may be the only way Washington will ever change pot laws—even taking a moderate step like decriminalizing possession of small amounts, never mind legalizing pot completely.

"Sometimes you have to do things by initiative because the legislature doesn't want to do it," said Speaker Chopp, speaking about controversial proposals. Is the legislature shirking its responsibility by asking the public to pick up the tab for an expensive initiative? "I'm not advocating that we do initiatives. I'm just saying sometimes that's the way to get things done," he said.

Naturally, some lawmakers and citizens are fed up. State representative Mary Lou Dickerson (D-36) has filed a bill that would completely legalize marijuana and regulate its sale like liquor. But—familiar story—Dickerson's bill doesn't have a chance because others in Olympia think it's too hot to touch.

Yeah it's pretty inevitable that everybody in Washington State wants to see marijuana decriminalized..everyone except the governor that is :/ She stated publicly that she would veto any bill that comes her way on marijuana decriminalization, and we would have to overturn her veto by a 2/3's majority to win. But even most of the house committee members were in support, one way or another, of decriminalization - they just didn't support 'these' bills, or had other reasons such as federal law not to vote to pass them.

Ah how much swiM would love that day when we overturn the governor ..that's not gonna be easy but omg swiM'd be so happy!